igloo Posted April 2 Report Share Posted April 2 Berger Pleads Guilty to Taking MaterialsBy MARK SHERMAN The Associated PressUpdated: 2:48 a.m. ET April 2, 2005WASHINGTON - Sandy Berger, President Clinton's national security adviser, admitted in federal court that he deliberately took classified documents out of the National Archives and destroyed some of them at his office.advertisementBerger pleaded guilty Friday to one charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine. Under a plea agreement, he would pay a $10,000 fine, surrender his access to classified government materials for three years and cooperate with investigators.U.S. Magistrate Deborah Robinson set sentencing for July 8.Rather than the "honest mistake" he described last summer, Berger told Robinson that he intentionally took and deliberately destroyed three copies of the same document dealing with terror threats during the 2000 millennium celebration. He then lied about it to Archives staff when they told him documents were missing.Robinson did not ask Berger why he cut up the materials and threw them away at the Washington office of his Stonebridge International consulting firm. Berger, accompanied by his wife, Susan, did not offer an explanation when he spoke to reporters outside the federal courthouse."It was a mistake and it was wrong," he said, refusing to answer questions.Noel Hillman, chief of the Justice Department's public integrity section, would not discuss Berger's motivation, but he said the former national security adviser understood the rules governing the handling of classified materials. Berger had only copies of documents; all the originals remain in the government's possession, Hillman said.The Associated Press first reported last July that the Justice Department was investigating Berger. The disclosure prompted Berger to step down as an adviser to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.The Bush administration disclosed the investigation of Berger's actions just days before the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks issued its final report. Democrats claimed the White House was using Berger to deflect attention from the harsh findings, with their potential for damaging President Bush's re-election prospects.After news of the probe surfaced, Berger said he left the National Archives on two occasions in 2003 with copies of documents about the government's anti-terror efforts and notes that he took on those documents.He said he was reviewing the materials to help determine which Clinton administration documents to provide to the Sept. 11 attacks. He called the episode "an honest mistake" and denied criminal wrongdoing.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahalomenehune Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 Berger pleaded guilty Friday to one charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine. Under a plea agreement, he would pay a $10,000 fine, surrender his access to classified government materials for three years and cooperate with investigators.I believe this fine is a little to high for stealing something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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